Le Tour du Mont Blanc, Day 7

Friday, September 7th

We left our packed bags at the hotel and walked to the bus station in Courmayeur for our 1-hour, €3.50,  bus ride to Aosta the next morning. We walked from the Romulus and Remus statue to the archaeology museum near the Romanesque-Gothic Sant’Orso church. Colleen had been in the market for a rosary for her mother and decided to ask a nun where she would be able to buy one.

Colleen asks the nun where to find a rosary while Sue consults the map

There was a special procession for Sant Orso, the patron saint of Aosta. The police band played plus there were numerous photographers getting photos/film of the processions with a cardinal, priests, nuns, and the congregation. They must have the relic of Sant Urso, an Italian evangelist from the 6^th century now venerated as a saint, in the box that was also carried. High volume hymns came out of speakers all over town.

Procession for Sant Orso

We toured the Forum Cryptoporticus, long tunnels built in the Augustan period of the early Roman empire about 2,000 years ago, most likely to both connect and keep separate the holy area and the non-holy public square area. It was likely turned into storage for goods by the 3rd century AD.

Lit tunnels of the Cryptoporticus

Our next stop was the Roman theater with the 22 m/72 ft south facade dominating the site. Colleen happily found a beautiful rosary in a jewelry store near this site.

The Roman Theater in Aosta

We also toured the Paleochristain St. Laurence Church, and then our final stop was to the Arch of Augustus build in 35 BC when the town was founded.

Arch of Augustus, 35 BC

It was a whirlwind tour and then we caught our return bus, picked up our bags at the hotel and met our taxi driver.  He drove us up the road (saving us many miles of hiking) to a trail that went to the Rifugio Bonatti in less than an hour!

Happy Hour at Rifugio Bonatti

 The view from this Rifugio was spectacular. We sat at a picnic table on the patio, seeing a bit of Mont Blanc, as well as many other mountains and glaciers, and we met a nice Australian couple and saw the two Israeli girls we had been bumping into along the way. The hut seems to be newly remodeled but the bunks are still in rows of beds. There were built-in hutches for holding backpacks, poles, and a drawer below and a shelf above for storage.

Rows of beds in Rifugio Bonatti

Dinner was a nice salad, a good lentil soup, cheesy mashed potatoes, sausages, and egg croquettes. Dessert was a chocolate pudding topped with a tangy yogurt with chocolate and citrus bits. You can tell how important food it to us!

Sunset view out of our bedroom window

Day 7 Summary: Courmayeur to Aosta and return, then on to Rifugio Bonatti (Italy); Taxi ride: 7 miles, 1580’ up/35’ down; hike: 1 mi, 1023’ up/0’ down, 52 min on trail